The soluble guanylate cyclase CYG12 is required for the acclimation to hypoxia and trophic regimes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Oxygenic phototrophs frequently encounter environmental conditions that result in intracellular energy crises. Growth of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in hypoxia in the light depends on acclimatory responses of which the induction of photosynthetic cyclic electron flow is essential. The microalga cannot grow in the absence of molecular oxygen (O2 ) in the dark, although it possesses an elaborate fermentation metabolism. Not much is known about how the microalga senses and signals the lack of O2 or about its survival strategies during energy crises. Recently, nitric oxide (NO) has emerged to be required for the acclimation of C. reinhardtii to hypoxia. In this study, we show that the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) CYG12, a homologue of animal NO sensors, is also involved in this response. CYG12 is an active sGC, and post-transcriptional down-regulation of the CYG12 gene impairs hypoxic growth and gene expression in C. reinhardtii. However, it also results in a disturbed photosynthetic apparatus under standard growth conditions and the inability to grow heterotrophically. Transcriptome profiles indicate that the mis-expression of CYG12 results in a perturbation of responses that, in the wild-type, maintain the cellular energy budget. We suggest that CYG12 is required for the proper operation of the photosynthetic apparatus which, in turn, is essential for survival in hypoxia and darkness.

Hypoxic survival requires a 2-on-2 hemoglobin in a process involving nitric oxide.

Hemoglobins are recognized today as a diverse family of proteins present in all kingdoms of life and performing multiple reactions beyond O2 chemistry. The physiological roles of most hemoglobins remain elusive. Here, we show that a 2-on-2 ("truncated") hemoglobin, termed THB8, is required for hypoxic growth and the expression of anaerobic genes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. THB8 is 1 of 12 2-on-2 hemoglobins in this species. It belongs to a subclass within the 2-on-2 hemoglobin class I family whose members feature a remarkable variety of domain arrangements and lengths. Posttranscriptional silencing of the THB8 gene results in the mis-regulation of several genes and a growth defect under hypoxic conditions. The latter is intensified in the presence of an NO scavenger, which also impairs growth of wild-type cells. As recombinant THB8 furthermore reacts with NO, the results of this study indicate that THB8 is part of an NO-dependent signaling pathway.